Chapter 8:
Team AVHR were training in the sparring centre, having got permission from Ozpin to use it to refine their skills. Normally, students weren't usually allowed to use the sparring centre, as it was only ever used for classes taught by Goodwitch. However, Ozpin knew that Team AVHR was far beyond their peers, and as such would need to sharpen their skills. While he didn't give a reason to the teens as to why he allowed them to use the sparring centre, they were still content with being allowed to use it.
Right now they were going through team training. All of their individual skills could be sharpened through experience or experimentation, since they all were skilled in their own strengths. However, they needed to know each others strengths and weaknesses, as well as come up with combo moves. Hence their sparring.
Anthony was teamed with Clint, while Bruce and Thor were teamed with each other. While the latter two seemed the more obvious choice to win, they didn't get along too well. Oh, Thor had no problem working with Bruce. Hulk, on the other hand, was a bit... temperamental.
As evident by the fact that the hulking being roared as arrows were being shot at him, exploding on impact. He waved his arms, clearing the smoke and looking for where the archer had gone. Just as he was about to stomp the ground in frustration, he could feel a prick on his back. He was about to scoff before he roared in slight pain, electricity coursing through his body.
"Got to thank Repair Boy for these new arrows," Clint said with a smirk. Said smirk was wiped off his face, seeing the increasing rage across Hulk's face.
"ROOOOAR!" Hulk roared, a small shockwave produced from his furious stomp.
"... Crap! Crap! Crap!" Clint yelled, shooting arrow after arrow at Hulk, who kept on stomping towards him. One arrow managed to freeze Hulk solid for a good few seconds, before shattering. Another was aimed at his feet, breaking off and turning into bolas and wrapped around his legs, bringing the green goliath down. That, however, didn't last too long, since Hulk grabbed the bolas and ripped them apart. A flash bang arrow was sent to his face, exploding in light and blinding the Hulk, causing him to gave Clint ample time to run away, since Hulk just kept getting angrier.
With Anthony and Thor, the spar had quickly dissolved into a match of who had the better skill in fighting. Thor couldn't use his lightning against the technopath, as it didn't have the effect that he wanted. The same could be said for Anthony. Technology only worked so long before it was either smashed or short-circuited sometimes. So it was hammer against sword. Thor's heavy blows caused Anthony to deflect them or roll out of the way. For Thor, he had to grit his teeth and power through the sneaky attacks that Anthony performed, getting cuts along his arms or torso. With a roar, Thor broke the stalemate, surprising Anthony and smashing him with his hammer, sending him flying. He only realised his mistake a few seconds afterward, when Anthony landed on his back with a groan, grunting.
"I am sorry, Anthony!" Thor exclaimed, walking towards his teammate. "I did not mean to hit you that hard, I swear!"
"N-No, it's okay," Anthony wheezed out, wincing. "J-Just remember to take it easier next time. A-And Arsenal?"
"Yes, sir?" Arsenal's voice called out from Anthony's backpack.
"Add 'extra armour' to training sessions," he wheezed.
"Noted."
Thor was able to help Anthony up, while Hulk held Clint in a bear hug, wanting to crush him. He tried to wiggle out of the grip. "H-Hey, Hulk! I-I was only kidding! This is a sparring sess- A-ACK!" he coughed out, bones breaking as Hulk squeezed harder.
Before Anthony or Thor could reprimand Hulk, they heard someone shout, "Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around!" That someone was revealed to be none other than Blake. She passed the training teens, panic visibly clear on her body.
All of them blinked, wondering what went wrong. Then Hulk went back to crushing Clint. Thor looked towards Anthony. "Would you like to see what's going on?"
Anthony frowned. "Why me?"
"Because you are close to Team RWBY. Besides, it's not good to leave friends in peril."
Anthony raised an eyebrow, still not convinced. But seeing the expectant look Thor gave him, he sighed. "Alright, fine," he grumbled, getting up and wincing. "You owe me for this."
"Aye! Perhaps another sparring match?" Anthony flinched while he stumbled, bewildered by Thor's suggestion.
"No," he denied quickly. "Not unless I wear a metal suit." With that, he stumbled after the girl.
"Blake, wait!" Ruby cried out running after her teammate only to be stopped when Anthony caught her arm.
"Ruby, what the hell is going on?" Anthony asked the girl.
"Blake and Weiss were fighting about how Weiss looks at Faunus a-and it got really out of hand then I-I think Blake just admitted she's a Faunus then she ran off!" the younger teen cried, looking on the verge of tears.
Now Anthony felt compelled to help the girl. Her crying face was something that he didn't want to see.
The technopath sighed. "Go back to your dorm, Ruby, I'll go talk to Blake."
"But-"
"Look, a fresh face is something that Blake might need. If you go meet her, there's likely to be an argument to arise. If I go see her, I'll be able to see what's wrong and try and give my own opinion."
Ruby hesitated, beaten by the logic Anthony gave. Looking down with her eyes still teary, Ruby nodded her head and went back to her dorm. Before leaving, she turned to look at Anthony. "Help her."
Anthony nodded, seeing the teen go to her dorm. He sighed. "Why can't girls be simple? And here I thought that I'd have woman following me, no problem. Didn't know it'd be the opposite."
Taking out his Scroll (that thankfully wasn't damaged during the spar) he activated his personal GPS app that he'd installed, sending out signals to locate Blake. Hopefully, she still had her Scroll on her. Taking a quick moment to hack into Beacons files (something that he hoped Ozpin wouldn't find out), he used the code listed on the school site for the Scrolls, finding Blake's. After a few moments...
"Bingo," he smirked, finding Blake's Scroll, before taking off into its direction.
She had, fortunately, not left the school, choosing instead to stand in front of the Statue of the Founders, her mind in turmoil. Anthony mentally went over what he planned to say to her. Of all of Team RWBY's members, Blake was the one that he least interacted with. Weiss didn't count, as she was a stuck-up bitch. The black-haired girl had a mysterious air around her. And while Anthony found that intriguing and somewhat attractive, he still found it hard to talk to the girl.
A plan finally coming to mind, he spoke. "I'm guessing that Weiss was the one who you had a fight with?"
Blake twitched, but didn't do anything else. Finally, she turned around, looking Anthony in the eyes. "How'd you come to that?"
"Ruby's a wallflower, she couldn't hold a serious argument to save her life. Yang seems chill, so that's out. And Weiss is the one who's likely to piss someone off. She's bitchy like that."
Blake's lips twitched. "That's true." Her smile faded. "What are you doing here?"
"Thor made me come and meet you. Then Ruby came and I convinced her to go back while I talk to you."
Blake turned to face the statue. "I don't want to talk. Go away."
"... So, it's going to be like that, huh?" Anthony muttered to himself. He sighed. "Let me guess; you did something that you're not proud of, and now you're found out?"
Blake didn't say anything, though her eyes said it all. Anthony was able to notice all these things, he was trained to do so, after all.
"I'm right, aren't I? You have a secret that you don't want anyone to find, but you got caught. You got caught in some bad stuff, you did stuff you prefer to lock away." Seeing Blake not moving, he pushed harder. He was thinking of what was Blake's problem specifically. What would Weiss get pissed about? Well, she was a spoiled princess, so the list was probably long. But what? What would she- Anthony's eyes widened for a moment, before looking at Blake. She seemed to be a relatively normal girl, no oddities on her. No, wait. He spotted something. On top of her head. Her bow. For some reason, it moved slightly. Anthony could've chalked it up to the wind or something, but no. It wiggled like it was trying to move.
A thoughtful frown on his face, he said, "You're a Faunus, aren't you?"
Blake's neck moved so quickly that he thought that she just experienced whiplash. Her amber eyes were wide in shock.
"It's true, isn't it?" he continued. "That explains why you were so livid when Cardin talked shit about Faunus." He frowned. "And also why you tried to hide it."
Blake continued to leave her mouth open, before fear and sadness creeped into her features. Seeing this, Anthony scowled. "Oi, don't lump me in with that dumbass. I don't care if you're a Faunus, Blake. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you never told anyone."
His mind was racing. Why would Blake hide who she was? The obvious answer was to hide from any racist students like Cardin and his goons.
Blake's shoulders slumped in slight relief, before the familiar haunted look appeared in her eyes. Anthony's breath caught in his throat. The reason being that her eyes were so familiar. Familiar because he saw the same eyes whenever he looked into a mirror.
She raised her hand to remove her bow, letting it fall as actual cat ears twitched on her head. They were lowered, signifying that she was sad. If the mood wasn't so sad, he'd honestly make a pussy cat joke.
Anthony moved towards her, causing Blake to back away slightly. Nevertheless, Anthony kept advancing. He stood in front of her, an understanding expression on his face. "You've been touched by the darkness too, haven't you?"
Blake frowned, confusion written across her face.
"Your eyes show sorrow, a haunted look in your eyes. You've done things, partaken in things that stained your soul. Memories that trap your mind-" he stopped, images forming in his mind that were usually kept locked away.
"You've felt the same way, haven't you?" Blake asked, although the answer was obvious.
Anthony walked beside her, looking ahead at the statue in front of them. Blake's eyes were still on him, as if searching for something.
"For as long as I can remember, I've been trained to kill people," Anthony started, getting wide eyes from the Faunus. "My dad... was insistent that I take up the family business. My family has been working as assassins for a long time. My grandfather was an assassin, my uncle, my aunt, etc. When it was time for my training, I hated it." Anthony chuckled, but there was no mirth behind it. "I always whined, made excuses, even ran away for a bit, just to escape it. My father wasn't... happy with that."
"Did he beat you?" Blake asked in a quiet voice, a little drawn to the story.
Anthony smiled. He lifted up his shirt, revealing his midriff. Blake blushed a little at the toned and lithe muscles, along with the visible six-pack, but cringed at seeing small scars littering his torso. These were small, not too deep, but still looked terrible. The worst, however, was a large, deep one, on his left pectoral. It looked old, jagged and almost fatal.
"These came from training," Anthony said, gesturing towards all some of his shallow scars. "However, some came from 'discipline'." He scowled as he said the word. "Apparently, I was too mouthy, too innocent, too naïve." Anthony snarled out the last word, making Blake flinch. He sighed, calming down slightly. "The scars helped me keep my mouth shut, and focus on the mission. I spent years killing people; men, women, teenagers. Sometimes..." Anthony hesitated. "I still see them," he admitted. "At the edge of my vision, I still see them. I see them sleep, I see them curse me, I-" He got a lump in his throat, before grunting.
"I'm not telling you this for you to pity me," Anthony managed to say, looking the girl in the eyes. "I'm telling you this because, as big as you think your problems are, running away from them won't help." Seeing Blake's angry glare, he elaborated. "Blake, I can tell that you being a Faunus isn't the reason you ran away. You had the same look I did when I ran away from home. Loathing, fear, shame. This has something to do with the White Fang, doesn't it?"
Blake's gaze went from angry to ashamed. He sighed, finally getting to the root of the problem.
"I'm not going to berate you or anything," Anthony clarified. "I of all people know that one's past doesn't fully define them. And I also know about people being in bad places at bad times. For whatever reason. But you can't hide who you are."
"Then why don't you tell your teammates about your past, huh?" Blake rebuffed, annoyed at his words. "Why don't you tell them about how you killed people?"
"Because it's my past, something that's sensitive to me," Anthony replied. "I've already come to terms with what I was, and have gotten rid of my inner demons. I may struggle, but I can still push through, face who I was. You, however, have not and by running away from them, by hiding them away from those who you should be trusting with your very life, you are giving them power. Being a Faunus is not something to be ashamed of Blake, it in fact makes you physically superior to most humans. You should look at your bloodline with pride, not scorn. So why don't you?"
"Because of what I did!" she yelled, eyes showing self-hatred and anger. "I was a part of the White Fang almost my entire life! I took part in every rally, boycott, gathering, everything! When our old leader stepped down and a new one took its place things didn't change right away, all of us could see what was happening, what the Fang was being turned into." By now the golden eyed girl was openly crying, her tears falling on the ground. "He turned us into an army, a group of terrorist scum that proved everything that the anti-Faunus campaigns had preached in the past right about us. And the worst part? I stayed with them. I followed my orders like a good little soldier and did everything I was asked. Unlike you, Anthony, I didn't have any remorse or regret killing innocent people." She looked down, shame written across her face. "How can I tell my team what I am? What I did? You were raised as a cold-blooded assassin, and yet you left your past and embraced your future. I'm still running away from my past, and I definitely don't see a clear future ahead for me." She dropped to her knees. "How do you do it? How do you live with yourself? How do I live with myself after all that I've done?"
For a moment, Anthony didn't say anything, only kneeling down to comfort the girl in front of him. "The truth is, I'm far from being fixed," Anthony admitted. "I'm still broken. I'm still trying to piece myself together. That's why I love my Semblance. It helps me focus on creating something, instead of destroying lives." He sighed. "But I manage to not let my past burden me. I've made mistakes, but the thing that helps me sleep at night is that I don't enjoy what I've done. I'm not the monster that my father and family tried to create. I can make my own decisions, and my decision is to be a Huntsman, and to be the best leader for Team AVHR that I can be." Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Do you regret what you've done?"
Blake nodded gently.
"Do you wish to continue what the White Fang are doing?"
Blake's head shook vehemently at that.
"Do you wish to stop them?"
A small nod was his answer.
He smiled. "Then that's all you need. It's not going to be easy, and it might take time, but know that I'll be there for you. As well as your team."
Blake didn't say anything, only held onto him as she cried. "Come on," Anthony finally said, helping her to her feet, "I'll call your team to let them know you're alright, but I think you need some time off. I'll rent us some rooms down in Vale for the night, and tomorrow we can start getting you to come to terms with who you are."
As Anthony helped her, neither noticed the blond monkey Faunus in a nearby tree, watching the seen before him in sadness.
XXX
Anthony and Blake sat at a cafe, just talking with one another. It had been two days since Blake's revelation, and the two had taken to hanging out at a small hotel in Vale, trying to clear their minds. Anthony knew that he should tell his team and Team RWBY where they were, but decided to keep things private. He could tell that Blake felt the same way.
"So, you're going to go after the White Fang?" Anthony asked.
Blake nodded, a faraway look in her eyes. "I have to know... why the White Fang is doing this. Even if they did things that weren't right while I was there, I still believed that they were trying to do good. But now..."
Anthony nodded his head in understanding. Finally, he said, "So, I guess that you need a partner."
"You offering?" Blake asked, an eyebrow raised.
Anthony smiled. "It wouldn't do for me to leave a beautiful girl all alone on a mission." Seeing her deadpanned look, he sighed. "Fine, I'm trying to help you out because you're my friend. Happy?"
Blake smiled a little, satisfied. "Yes."
A waiter came, putting their food down on the table. Anthony had ordered an ice-cream sandwich, while Blake had ordered a tuna sandwich. Both of them enjoyed their meals in silence, mentally going over the plan in their heads.
"So, tonight?" Anthony queried.
Blake nodded. "Tonight."
"Can I join?" a voice asked, causing the both of them to jump and whirl to see the blonde Faunus from the docks, hanging upside down by his tail. He grinned, waving. "What's up?"
"How long have you been standing-uh, hanging there?" Blake asked, surprised.
The Faunus shrugged. "Up until the part where you two agreed to spy on the White Fang."
"Uh huh," Anthony nodded, frowning. "And you are..."
"Oh, right." Unwrapping his tail, he fell and landed on his feet. "Name's Sun Wukong! Nice to meet you!" He winked at Blake while shaking Anthony's hand.
"I'm Blake," the cat Faunus answered.
"Anthony. So, Sun. What brings you here?" Anthony asked.
"Eh, wanted to see what Vale's like. My team's not scheduled to come until after the two-week break, but I couldn't resist. It's not the first time I've done this," said Sun. "How do you know Blake?"
"She goes to my school, and I'm on good terms with her team. Well, most of them," Anthony said, frowning. "Now, why are you really here?"
Sun hesitated at being caught. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I, uh... overheard your plan about the White Fang..."
"We got that," Blake said, eyes narrowing. "But why do you care?"
"Uh... I kind of... eavesdroppedon your conversation a few days ago..." He winced at the glares that he received. "It was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean to!"
"Didn't mean to eavesdrop on us pouring our pasts out to each other?" Anthony snarled, furious.
Sun flinched. "Like I said, I didn't mean too! I was just hanging around and overheard you guys. And since Blake is a fellow Faunus, I just... wanted to help."
Anthony made to continue, only to pause at seeing Blake put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's fine," she assured, though her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at Sun, who slightly whimpered. "I trust that Sun here isn't going to tell anyone about our secrets without our permission. Right?"
"D-Definitely!" Sun nodded, scared shitless.
Anthony wasn't content, but managed to let it go. After their meal, the trio was walking down an ally.
"You sure we shouldn't contact our teammates?" Anthony asked, hands on his Scroll.
Blake shook her head. "I know we should, but I can't help but think about these recent robberies. The White Fang has never needed that much Dust before."
"What if they did?" asked Sun, his eyes widening. He turned to the both of them, "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"
"Huh," Anthony said, nodding in agreement. "Looks like your onto something, monkey boy."
Sun made to correct him, but looking at the furious look in Anthony's eyes, he relented. Guess he didn't forgive him for eavesdropping.
"In short, find the real perpetrators," summarized Blake. "Why couldn't you have just said that?"
Sun just shrugged at this. Wasn't his fault his thought process went that way.
"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," sighed Blake.
"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about off loading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas," offered Sun.
"How huge?" asked Blake, her eyes narrowing.
"Huge. Big Schnee Company Freighter," answered Sun.
"Looks like we got our location," said Anthony. He was about to call the rest of their teams when Blake stopped him.
"Please. Don't tell them yet. I have to find out for myself first," pleaded Blake.
Anthony frowned, but agreed. "Fine. But if things go south, we're calling them immediately."
Blake nodded, content with that.
XXX
It was night time, and Blake and Anthony were at the docks observing. Sun came in with some food, asking if he had missed anything. He offered them some food he stole and got glares back.
"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" asked Blake.
"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" shot back Sun, receiving an even angrier glare from Blake and Anthony. "Okay, too soon."
"Maybe you should've been a rat Faunus instead," Anthony mumbled. "Sneaky and dirty."
Sun glared at that, but didn't say anything. Suddenly, the wind started to blow around them, and they looked up to see a Bullhead flying around before descending to the ground in the middle of all the cargo containers. A ramp came forth, and White Fang soldiers walked out.
"Oh no," gasped Blake, hoping what she saw wasn't true.
"Is that them?" asked Sun. One of the grunts turned around, flashing the White Fang symbol to them. It was a red feral animal with three slash marks behind it.
"Yes... it's them.," said Blake sadly as the White Fang grunts started to obtain the cargo.
"I'm sorry," Anthony consoled, patting her on the shoulder.
"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" asked Sun.
Blake could only stare sadly at the scene, "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She closed her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she heard a new voice. Her vision zoomed into the newcomer to discover that he was human. She recognized him as Roman Torchwick from the news.
Anthony blinked. "It's that guy me and Ruby fought. What the hell is he doing with the White Fang?"
"Hey! What's the holdup?!" shouted Roman. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that," said Blake as she stood up, unsheathing Gambol Shroud from her sheath and walking off the edge of the roof they had been hiding.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" said Sun, alarmed, only to see her disappear.
"Knew there was a reason that I liked her," Anthony commented, seeing her disappear like a ninja. He quickly sent a message to Teams RWY and VHR, telling them to come to his location, weapons ready for battle.
"Come on," he said to Sun, the two of them jumping after Blake.
Blake had managed to sneak up behind Roman and held her blade at his neck. The White Fang reacted, pointing their guns and brandishing their weapons, but were surprised when she took off her bow to reveal that she herself was a Faunus. She questioned why they were aiding Roman when he told her that he was actually working with the White Fang on a certain operation. Blake tried to pry for more information when she was distracted by two more Bullheads flying over. Blake watched in horror at this sight. Roman, seeing her distracted, pointed his cane at her feet. The end of the cane's bottom flipped up, and Roman fired, sending Blake flying away in an explosion.
Blake was dazed by the sudden explosion but unhurt. Regaining her bearings, she quickly rolled out of Roman's shots. He kept firing, forcing her away. She did a few back flips before using her Semblance to get some more distance. She quickly ran for cover behind one of the cargo containers.
Roman made to shoot again, but had to dodge a swipe from Eclipse Cutter. Eyes wide, he turned to see Anthony. "You," he seethed, glaring.
"Miss me?" Anthony taunted, before raised his arms, bracelets suddenly forming on his wrists. Capsules popped open from it, wrist-mounted darts shooting out from them and heading towards Roman.
The criminal used his cane to deflect a few of them, but ended up barely dodging the rest. Suddenly, a banana peel landed on his head. He looked up in surprised just to see Sun dropkicking/stomping him on his face. Roman's head ended up on the floor as Sun did a couple flips before landing and turning around.
"Boo-yah!" he yelled out, grinning.
Roman slowly got back up, shaking off the concussion he just got. Soon, the Bullheads that had been hovering above them opened up, letting more White Fang members descend down, surrounding Sun.
"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" teased Roman as the White Fang members charged in. Suddenly, a crimson beam shot at one of them, punching through their head. The head exploded in a shower of slowly vaporized blood and brain matter. The shock from the violent attack allowed Anthony to intercept a couple of the White Fang members, his visor up.
"Move, dammit!" Anthony yelled out from where he was fighting them. Snapping himself from his shock, Sun took out his first victim. The second one was knocked out by his monkey tail slapping him hard, followed by a swift kick on the third one. After punching and kicking quite a few of them, he rolled under a sword slash before grabbing his weapon, a red staff with gold markings. He spun it around quite a few times, knocking the grunts out of commission before slamming his staff onto the floor, knocking out two of them while causing the third one to stumble, to which he quickly tripped him before flipping right over the grunts head and stomping him in the spine. With another flip, Sun sent the hapless grunt at Roman as a projectile.
Roman just groaned in frustration before aiming his cane and firing a shot, to which Sun blocked it by twirling his staff in front of him at high speeds. He suddenly ducked as Eclipse Cutter was sent sailing towards him. The sword was stabbed into the ground. Just as Roman was about to turn around, he was blindsided by a roundhouse kick, courtesy of Anthony.
"Gah! You are so annoying, you know that kid?!" Roman yelled out, seeing his hat fly away somewhere.
Anthony smirked, visor glowing. "I know." A red beam emitted from the visor, forcing Roman to roll away and causing the beam to punch through the ground.
"He's mine!" shouted Blake as she dropped in and attacked Roman as fast and furiously as she could.
However, even abusing her Semblance to launch attacks at all different angles, Roman showed them why he was the boss, and why he was feared in the underground crime city. He was initially surprised from the first hit, but managed to block the rest before attacking her, even landing a fist on her face, although that was once again dodged. It was when Roman stunned Blake by hitting her with the hook part of his cane did he land a few more hits before swiping his weapon downwards on her head, knocking her back. Sun came to intervene, switching his staff into two nunchaku, taking his own turn.
, and kicked Roman away. He started attacking with weapons, spinning them and firing shotgun rounds at Roman, while trying to bash him at the same time. Roman parried each attack, leaving Sun unable to get through his defense. Sun finally had enough, and after tossing his left one in the air, he spun, letting the right nunchaku hit first before catching the left one in his rotation and slamming it at Roman's weapon, leaving them both open. Blake took advantage of this and slashed at him, sending him flying backwards, leaving him wide open to Anthony's attack.
Moving like lightning, Anthony's form vanished, only reappearing a few feet away from the group. Slowly sheathing his sword, he saw Roman twitch, before yelling out in pain, sudden sword slashes appearing over his form, sending torn cloth and blood to fly through the air. He landed on the ground in a heap, still holding onto his cane. He groaned in pain, struggling to get up.
The teens made to advance on him, but he dropped something circular onto the ground. A sudden flash was produced when the object hit the ground, blinding the teens. "AAAH!" all three of them yelled out in pain from the light.
Roman managed to move away slowly, trying not to aggravate his wounds. Seeing a cargo container above the three, he chuckled, shooting the hooks off and sending the container falling.
Anthony's ears twitched at hearing the gunshot, along with the whooshing of air from above. Even when blinded, he was still left with four very sharp senses. Taking out Eclipse Cutter, he yelled, lightning running across the sword. He slashed upwards, cleanly cutting the container in half. The two pieces fell away by the sides.
Blake and Sun blinked rapidly, rubbing their eyes. Anthony's own vision was starting to slowly return.
"You're a real pain in the ass, kid!" Roman commented, scowling.
"It's all part of my infallible wit and charm!" Anthony yelled back, making the technology on his arms merge and cover his hands, creating two plasma cannons. He aimed the two of them at Roman.
The criminal mastermind's eyes widened. "Oh, shi-"
Two plasma blasts erupted from the cannons at high speeds, making Roman move out of the way quickly. A huge explosion - followed by a flash of light - occurred, catching the attention of the incoming Team RWY and VHR. The explosion quickly died down, revealing a destroyed dock, flames forming on the ground. Most of the cargo containers were scorched or slightly destroyed.
Blake and Sun gaped at the destruction caused. Anthony chuckled sheepishly, dismissing his cannons. "Uh, oops?"
A fair distance from them, Roman coughed, trying to get rid of the smoke. He took of his jacket that had flames on it. "Damn kid. Who the hell has cannons for weapons?" he muttered to himself silently, before trying to crawl away. No way was he going to deal with that kid.
"Whoa," said Ruby in awe, having finally arrived along with her team, as well as Team VHR. From the clearing smoke, she noticed Roman trying to sneak away. "Hey!" she called out, catching his attention.
"Why hello, Red! Isn't it past *cough* your bed time!" shouted Roman in a jovial manner as he waved at her, coughing from the smoke.
"Ruby, are these your friends?" asked a girl, pointing at the now running trio of teens.
"Penny, get back!" warned Ruby. However, this slight distraction cost her as Roman took a shot, blasting her back.
Yang saw this and roared out in anger as she charged at Roman.
The rest of the teams went to help Blake and the others. Penny was giving Roman a glare before walking forward. Ruby tried to stop her, but her reply was, "Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"
Anthony, Blake and Sun finally arrived, but paused at seeing Penny walk forward. "Get back!" Anthony yelled, plasma cannons forming on his hands again. He made to shoot, but was stopped by Blake. "No! You could hit the others as well!"
Anthony clicked his teeth, but dismissed his cannons.
Penny's backpack opened up revealing, a sword that had been folded up before it split into 10 swords. She ran in to fight, jumping from the rooftop they had been on.
Roman was busy fending off an enraged Yang. A few more Bullheads showed up, firing upon them all. Everyone ran to dodge and hide from the barrage. All but Penny, who made her swords block the bullets. Two more swords came out from her backpack, shooting into the wall before she suddenly flew back, dragging her swords along with her. Anthony finally realized that Penny was actually manipulating each sword with a string, like a puppet.
"Woah," Sun said in awe at the spectacle, Anthony sharing his awe.
The ten swords in front of Penny folded up as they rotated around Penny in a circle in front of her. She channeled her Aura, forming a green ball in front of her swords. Then, she leaned back and punched both hands forward, shooting out beams of laser that cut the Bullheads in half. White Fang members fell out of the ship in shock as the Bullheads split open. She then threw her swords at another Bullhead, trying to steal the cargo. The Bullhead was unable to move, and Penny brought it down hard.
Roman, taking advantage of everyone being distracted by Penny's attacks, got onto a Bullhead that had still been docked. Signaling the pilot, the Bullhead shot off before anyone could do anything.
"No, you don't!" Anthony yelled, finally able to use his cannons again. Two plasma shots shot forward, trying to hit the flying Bullhead. Neither of them connected, however. The Bullhead managed to narrowly evade the blasts, allowing them to blow up in the air.
"These kids just keep getting weirder..." muttered Roman to himself as the Bullhead flew away, still shaken by the plasma blasts.
"Well, he got away," grumbled Yang. Anthony scowled, seeing his attacks do nothing. The police quickly arrived and detained all the White Fang members on the site. The rest of them was momentarily held up for a few questions before being released.
After they had been released, Weiss turned to Blake, who started to speak.
"Weiss, I want you to-" started Blake, but Weiss stopped.
"Enough," Weiss proclaimed, "I have to apologize for my attitude. I slipped back into a behavior I swore to kick off. As long as you're not part of the White Fang anymore, then I don't care about your past. Just... if something big like this comes up, you'll come to your teammates first. And not someone else."
Blake had to wipe a tear before agreeing. Ruby cheered, saying that Team RWBY was back together again. Everyone chuckled at this.
"Well, I'll be damned," Clint commented. "The stuck-up heiress apologising. Next thing you know, pigs will start flying."
"... There are such things as flying pigs?" Thor asked in confusion.
The rest of Team AVHR laughed at that, confusing Thor even more.
"Wait a minute, where's Penny?" asked Ruby suddenly, interrupting the laughter. She started looking around, noticing she had disappeared.
Everyone shrugged before they finally started to head back to Beacon, although Anthony frowned along the way. That girl... she felt like a machine, he thought to himself. Could she be an android or something? ... Nah, no way. He dismissed the thought. As far as he knew, no one had the proper tech to build such a thing, except him. There was no way.
Penny was sitting inside a car, watching the group of friends gather to get ready to leave. She wanted to be with them, but protocols dictated that she had to obey her caretaker, who had come to pick her up.
"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city," lectured the driver as he started up the car.
"I know," said Penny sadly. She continued to gaze at the group. The driver noticed and sighed. "Penny, your time will come..." The car drove off in the opposite direction of where the group was headed to.
XXX
Roman dragged himself into an abandoned warehouse and sighed. This robbery had not gone as planned, and he mostly blamed it on teaming up with the White Fang. Sure, the men that he had borrowed from Junior, an owner of a nightclub, were weak, but at least they got the job done. Granted, this heist had been on a larger scale with much higher risks.
"How very disappointing."
Roman whirled around to see a woman with long black hair and golden eyes with a red dress approaching him. He sighed as he saw it was Cinder. Behind her were her two lackeys, Emerald, a green haired girl with brown skin, and Mercury, a tall grey-haired male with pale skin.
After throwing a few words back and forth, Cinder and her two pawns were about to leave. Mercury, meanwhile, smiled thinly at hearing one particular detail from Roman. A silver-haired kid who could manipulate technology.
It's been so long. I wonder how our confrontation will go down, little brother, Mercury thought to himself with a sneer.
And finished. This... needed to come out soon. Sorry for the late update.
So here, Anthony's past is revealed. I tweaked it a bit, so that him and Mercury were trained as assassins since they were little by their father and family members. It explains Anthony's skills and Mercury's choice of profession. And their childhood wasn't exactly... pleasant. Got to deal with Blake's revelation. Hope y'all liked it.
No Guest reviews, which is... really interesting and weird. Meh, not complaining.
If I didn't respond to your review, review again or PM me, and I'll get back to you. Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Any queries, you know where to find me.
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